On the Flip Side
by Red Dawn's Blossom
Summary: Inspired by 'Alternate Universe'. What if Dimitri and Rose's positions were switched? What if every event up to Shadow Kiss had actually occurred, but there was no Dimitri until now? A sizzling passion arises between the two despite everything going against them, but can they make it work amongst growing unrest in their world, and a threat so dangerous they may not live through it?


At least it wasn't a year this time? -dodges rotten fruit-

I'm sorry! I know this isn't what you guys were expecting from me, but I've been _obsessed_ with this couple. I'm rereading the Vampire Academy series and swooning over them once again. Can you blame me?

As I said in the description, this was inspired by 'Alternate Universe'. I am not _copying_ her story, but it did make me want to write my own version of the whole Guardian!Rose and Novice!Dimitri. It's a fun take on a hot couple!

I don't own Vampire Academy. ):

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><p>"All teams in position." I murmured into my earpiece. Now that we knew where they were, we couldn't let them escape. Not only was it dangerous for the Moroi involved, it was a bad notch on my reputation. After working so hard to build it up, I was not about to have two runaway teenagers ruin it.<p>

He was looking out the window, scanning the environment when his eyes landed on me. I tensed slightly before backing up further into the shadows. As soon as he disappeared from sight I knew they were running. "Targets have sighted us. They will be leaving in three minutes tops. Cover the boundary entirely. We cannot lose them." There was no response on the radio, which I took as a good sign. Everyone was concentrating on the mission at hand. It would do no good for anyone to be slacking.

I watched as they ran out the door, the giant of a man pushing his smaller friend along. Soon, however, I noticed the one who had to be the Dhampir lagging behind, forcing the Moroi to grab his arm and encourage him to run. I decided at that moment it was time for us to step out and end this whole thing once and for all. "Go."

With that one word, guardians circled the pair, making them freeze instantly. I stepped out in front of them and began speaking. "Prince Ivan Zeklos," I bowed towards him, "Mr. Belikov. I have been sent on a mission to recover the two of you and bring you back to St. Vladimir's Academy. Please come peacefully." There was a sharp Russian word of protest before the larger of the two dashed towards me.

Even at his strongest, he wouldn't have stood a chance. However, it was easy to see the recently dried blood running down his neck and staining his shirt. Sighing with irritation at the irrational behavior displayed by the boy, I dodged his shoddy attack and within seconds pinned him to the cement. I heard a nasty crack as his head hit the ground and felt a little bad; not bad enough to hesitate, though. I leaned forward and whispered, "I know you're weak from the bite. Don't hurt yourself more." I saw his eyes fill with mortification at having been caught in such a position; his body remained tense but the look in his eye was of defeat. I knew it wouldn't last for long, but I accepted it for now.

I got up quickly and reached my hand out towards him to help him up, but he ignored me, shooting an icy glare in my direction before pushing himself up onto shaky legs. As we started walking towards the black SUV's, he stumbled and was headed face first into the ground. Realizing what was happening, I dashed to his side and grabbed him, holding him up as he recovered. "You can let me go now." He snapped, and I sighed and shook my head.

"Get over yourself and accept help when you need it." We remained silent after that, but he didn't push me off of him and instead leaned into me. When we finally got to the SUVs, though, his demeanor had changed entirely. He was back to angry defiance, pushing me away and trying to act like a tough guy. I saw through his bravado easily but didn't say anything. He already hated me, no need to add fuel to the fire.

"Belikov, you're riding with me." I pointed to one of the SUVs idling on the street and he became even angrier than before.

"What about Ivan?" He demanded, looking quickly for his friend and meeting his eyes.

"I'm not stupid. If I put you two together you'll try and figure out how to get away again. Guardian Castile, please take Prince Zeklos with you." Eddie nodded and escorted him to a different vehicle, both of them climbing in while a few other guardians got in as well.

Dimitri turned his blazing eyes onto me before muttering quite a few angry Russian words. I'm pretty sure he used the entire array of Russian cuss words in one sentence; props for that. "Get in." I commanded before climbing into the driver's side. He sat kitty corner to my seat so I could keep my own eye on him. Four more guardians piled in before we were on our way to the airport.

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><p>Before we boarded the airplane that would take us to Montana, I threw my hair up into a quick ponytail. Lissa always insisted that when I was around other guardians that I wore my hair up as a reminder of all that I've accomplished. I wanted to tell her that I could never be proud of the marks on the back of my neck, but I knew how much it meant to her for me to get the respect she thought I deserved. After all we had been through together, I was often the one on the receiving end of the blame. I had grown a thick skin in that time, but she still couldn't believe people treated her <em>private guardian<em> that way. Whenever one of these people appeared, she would proudly explain how I'd done so much to protect her and everyone around me. I would at least listen to that one wish of hers, to bare my tattoos, just so that she couldn't complain when I didn't listen to anything else she said.

"Guardian Hathaway." One of the men at the airport greeted, nodding to me. I nodded back before continuing on my way, ensuring the novice under my protection still followed. He seemed distracted, so I turned around again and stepped toward the runway with our private jet waiting to go. I noticed Eddie and Zeklos getting on the plane ahead of us and turned back once again to Belikov. He was staring at my neck this time, in awe. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny, so I pulled his attention elsewhere.

"Belikov, if you promise to be on good behavior I won't separate you and your friend this time." I smirked when I noticed his eyes quickly flick to my face, as if to ensure I wasn't lying. He walked a little faster, now moving next to me instead of behind me. We reached the plane quickly and he flew up the stairs and headed towards his friend.

Immediately they scooted to the back of the plane, whispering to each other. I couldn't help but recall my own time with Lissa, smiling a bit before taking a seat next to Eddie.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked as I looked out the window next to him.

"Yep. Just waiting on the pilot." He replied. "You did a great job out there, you know. Those kids don't know how lucky they are that someone like you led the team and not Stan." I couldn't help but giggle at his comment before smiling sadly.

"It brings back a lot of memories, of Liss and me. It feels like it's been forever, but it's only been a few years now…" I let my sentence drift off as I was pulled into the memories I was telling Eddie about. I think he understood because he didn't continue the conversation.

I finally returned to present time and spoke to Eddie, startling him with the abruptness. "I'm going to check in on the boys real quick. Think you can hold the fort down here?" I winked at him as I got up and headed to the back of the plane. They both looked up at my arrival and stopped talking the minute I got within earshot. "If you're planning on jumping out of the plane, that's a terrible idea." They didn't reply to my joke; I must have caught them. I took a deep breath as I sat next to Dimitri and looked at the pair.

"Why'd you do it?" They knew exactly what I meant, but instead of answering the question they shot one back at me.

"Why'd _you_ do it?" My smile was humorless as I looked at the two. Dimitri, the one who'd spoken up, seemed determined to rile me up one way or another. Whatever, I could play along.

"To protect my Moroi. To keep her safe from the threat that lay within the school. Let me guess, you guys didn't like the teachers? The classes? Thought you were too good for the Academy so you just decided to leave?" They had both looked at their laps as reality crashed down on them. "You're going to hear the same lecture from Headmaster Kirova as soon as we get to the academy, but I'll give you one more real. Look at me, Belikov." He kept his head down. "_Look at me_."

He looked up at my tone of voice, and I continued on. I could feel the cold anger dripping from every word I said. "What you did was stupid and reckless, and you are lucky to be alive. Until you've seen a real Strigoi, until you've fought a real one, you will never know how lucky you are. They do not care about anything but the next food source they can get. They don't care how old you are, they don't care if you guys are the best of friends." I gave them my hardest look. "If we hadn't found you, the Strigoi would. Pray to whatever god you believe in that it was me and not them." I stopped and took a deep breath to calm down. I could go on for days about the irresponsibility of these two, but maybe that was because I was also berating myself on the stupidity of my actions seven years ago. "I'm just glad you're safe." I stood up and walked away from the two teenagers before I got back onto my heated lecture. They'd hear plenty of it when they got the academy, no need to start it now.

"Guardian Hathaway, we're almost to the airport." I nodded at the guardian who spoke and sat down next to Eddie again, sighing. I'm sure he heard the entire conversation, but he was ever the great friend and didn't say a word about it.

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><p>The car ride was uneventful, and remained awkwardly silent throughout the entire trip. Dimitri must have finally realized the severity of his situation, because even though I caught him staring at my neck multiple times, he didn't ask about it. I couldn't blame him for being curious; my neck was different than most. While it still contained the traditional Molnija marks and Promise mark, it also had two Zvezda marks. Marks like that were unheard of in this day and age unless, of course, you were at St. Vladimir's when the Strigoi decided to attack the academy and take prisoners. That was a day I liked to <em>not<em> remember, though I still had nightmares about it.

As we pulled up to the gates, I opened the window and waved at the guard on duty. He waved back and we went through easily enough, making our way to the parking lot by the administration building. Once both vehicles were parked, and we all stood outside the building, I grinned. "Home, sweet home." I noticed both boys grimace at my comment. Eddie stood next to me and I leaned over to whisper dramatically, "Prepare to meet the devil." We both laughed before stepping forward and getting our entourage to move with us. "The quicker you boys get this done with, the quicker you can be back into the routine. It may not sound good right now but trust me, you'll learn to appreciate it." Eddie and I put our guardian masks into place before opening the doors to the building and leading the boys to Kirova's office.

This was going to be interesting, to say the least.


End file.
